Family is Thicker than Blood
by Ember411
Summary: A story like her mother Callie's. But nothing like her mother at all. Family is thicker than blood. Rated T for semi-mature content—as in mentioned or little seen/read. *TRIGGER WARNINGS: ASSAULT
1. Perfect Timing

**This is suppose to take place after Callie quits her clerkship and right around the time she moved in with Jamie.**

Now here she was.

In the bathroom with a white stick in her hand reading out a word that she prayed was only a lie. **_PREGNANT_**

She suspected it for a while now. She figured her period was late due to stress from quitting her clerkship, not passing the bar thus not being able to find a lawyer job, having an argument with Mariana (finding out about the Coterie women talking shit behind her back; Cotebitches), moving out of the Coterie and into Jamie's apartment and some other personal matters that resulted in major stress.

* * *

_Earlier Today_

Callie had gone back to the Coterie to grab an item she had forgotten behind when visiting Mariana to ask her something. While there she had to vomit so she ran into the bathroom and straight into a toilet to vomit.

"You sure you're okay, Callie? You look like complete shit."

"It's so fucking weird." Callie answered. "I'm stressed but like this is a new version of being stress."

Alice ran into the bathroom asking if any of the girls had a spare tampons on them at the moment. Both Mariana and Davia looked in their own bags for tampons. Living with Mariana for years, Callie knew that Mariana got her period, Callie would had been on hers for three days at max. So when Mariana said, "Here," She handed off five for Alice. "Mine started yesterday so I stocked up for three months." It threw Callie off guard.

She has her period already?

On her way back to the apartment Callie made a quick stop to the pharmacy store to grab a couple of things. One in specific. She prayed that this was an item that ended up being useless. An item that she could later say, "Well money was wasted on this stupid thing."

* * *

It was Saturday. Jamie had the day off. They had planned on going out to grab lunch—Callie telling him that she'd meet him at the cafe after dropping off the stuff back at the apartment. However when she opened the door she found Jamie still here with a picnic basket and blanket next to him.

"What's this?"

"It's way to nice and beautiful out to sit inside so I whipped up some peanut butter jelly sandwiches to take out. Unless you don't want too."

"No. It's fine. Sounds good. I just need to fresh up."

Of course he's home when Callie needed her alone time. She figure she would just have to keep a low profile.

* * *

She felt fine throughout the rest of the day. She had not thrown up or felt nauseous. She had the guess of it being only a trick on the mind from everything happening around her and her surroundings. Or some test from the universe to see if she succeeds or fails.

However it wasn't until woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night when she remembered what she had bought earlier that morning. She figure she would throw it away but...

Something prevented her.

Callie found her bag, read what she had to do, did so and waited.

Now here she was.

In the bathroom with a white stick in her hand reading out a word that she prayed was only a lie. PREGNANT.

"Perfect. Just what I needed." Callie said to herself. She lifted the bottom of her shirt curiously and gazed down at her flat toned abdomen that she knew, eventually, wouldn't be flat. "Perfect timing." She sighed.

A surge of emotions ran up to her. She tried to hold it back. She couldn't wait Jamie up and have him see her here. In the bathroom. With a positive pregnancy test. Not the best time for either of them.


	2. Dinosaur Clubbing Part I

**Friday April 3 2037.**

It was warmer than usual for early April weather. The sunlit hallways of the high school made the school eighty degrees inside. Students (and teachers) were upset that the automatic AC's in the school were broken and wouldn't be fixed until over the weekend and early into the following week. Until then, many students and teachers used fans to keep cool or have the windows opened to get a beachy wind blow into the classroom from the beach a single mile away. It would be faint at times, but worth it.

Almost nobody was sitting outsite for lunch. Sans two students, making out under a tree, waiting for their third friend to come along and be with them for lunch.

"Where's that stupid cousin of mine?"

"She said she'd be here soon, Evie."

"Ralfie, she's gone AWOL. I knew it." Fifteen year old Evie Hunter Foster laughed, pulling her long red hair into a high messy bun. She brushed down her white ruffle dress with cherry decorated print and turned around to search for her cousin again. "See her yet?"

Ralf Dankworth, sixteen, squinted and saw the female walking towards them. "That's her." He said. He leaned back onto the chair and crossed his ankles. "Your favorite cousin in the entire world. My other best friend."

"COLLEEN! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, STUPID BITCH!" Evie screamed at the top of her lungs.

Colleen Adams Foster Hunter came walking to to the shaded tree with a large smile on her face. "Keep screaming like that and you'll lose your voice." Colleen said down next to her cousin and friend.

"I will not."

Colleen rolled her eyes playfully. Sixteen, almost seventeen, but mature like she's thirty. Colleen was a beautiful mix of her parents. Passionate and cocky like her father Jamie, compassionate and loyal like her mother Callie. She had mother's brown eyes but her father's curly hair. Her hair being a medium sandy brown color was a mystery on its own but Callie had always guessed it came from her side of the family from her biological father.

"We're going to the movies tonight. Wanna come along?" Ralf asked her. "We're catching the re-release of either Little Shop of Horror—"

"Or Mamma Mia!" Evie finished. "You can be the tie breaker."

Colleen shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. My parents said if they got home early tonight than we'd go out for family dinner."

"What time would dinner be?"

"We probably would head out around six and finish by eight."

"Okay. The movies are going to start at nine, each of them. So they could just drop you off at the theater on the way back from dinner. My dad was already planning on picking me up from the movies—OH!" Evie's eyes lit up. "Sleepover! That way my dad will only have to pickup and drive home. I've got pj's you and wear and you can borrow an outfit for tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan for me. Now here's the real question," Colleen cocky smile happened. "Is this really a movie or is it a club around the corner from the theater?"

In union both Ralf and Evie said, "A club!"

"I got us fake I.D's from my cousin Melvin." Ralf reached into his backpack and pulled one out. "I just used our recent school ID pictures and Melvin minipulated them to make us look at least twenty-two or twenty-three. "As long as we just chew gum and don't drink too much we'll be okay and not get caught.

Colleen thought about it. It didn't sound like a bad idea. It sounded nice actually. Plus the club would only be around the corner from the movie theater and they were not going to drink at all. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

At home Colleen was upstairs in her bedroom finding something to wear. So far she had on a sapphire blue tank top, black high-waist skinny jeans and silver ballet flats with silver laces to tie up her ankle. She put her hair into a high ponytail with a sequin pink scrunchy and re-did her makeup so it was light for dinner, but a bit of a party worthy for the club if she was able to attend.

"Anyone home?"

"Upstairs!" Colleen called back down. She tossed on her cropped ivory cardigan and made her way out of the room.

"Hey Colleen?"

Colleen looked at the bedroom across from hers to find her thirteen year old brother, Lanny, standing at the door. Lanny had been fostered by Callie and Jamie for a year before being formally adopted two years ago. He had contact with his birth mother, Scarlett, by visiting her on the weekends now that she was out of the hospital and rehab and doing well with her drug abuse recovery.

"Tell mom I'll be downstairs in a minute."

"Okay. No issue."

"Why are you dressed so fancy?"

"For a movie, silly. I'm going to the movies with Evie and Ralf."

Colleen got down the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner to head into the kitchen in the back of the house. She walked in to find her mom putting groceries away and her tiny four year old brother, Jimmy, at the table with a toy truck he was obsessed with carrying. Colleen ruffled his straight brown hair and leaned up against the counter of the kitchen. "Lanny will be down in a minute." She spotted the newly poured coffe her mother had made and grasped it. "Where's Dad?"

"He'll be home in a half hour."

"Okay. Are we still going out to dinner?"

"Yeah." Callie turned around spotting how dressed up her daughter was. "Why so fancy?"

"Evie and Ralf invited me to a movie tonight. It's starting at nine." Colleen told her. "After dinner could you drop me off at the theater?"

"What movie?"

"Still deciding between Little Shop of Horror and Mamma Mia. So far I'm all for Little Shop of Horror."

"I don't see why not. It's Friday."

"Evie said I could just go to her house after the movie is over so that Uncle Brandon doesn't have to drive all over the city."

"Aren't you and Dad going to something tomorrow?"

"Right." The memory came back to her. "Some weird company thing. Bring your daughter to work day, sort of thing. On a Saturday. A non-workday for Dad." She made a funny face. "Strange. It's from eight to three then Dad is dropping me off at work."

Callie smiled. The Not A Burger Stand had opened in a couple more places in California and one just happened to be just outside of LA, close enough for Colleen to bus, walk or take a her bike either from school or the house. "I can pick you up after work."

"Okay."

* * *

**Colleen; Kaitlyn Dever**

**Ralf: Niles Fitch**

**Evie: Madelaine Petsch**

**Lanny: Lonnie Chavis**


	3. Dinosaur Clubbing Part II

"Bye Dad!" Evie shouted as she waved at the car.

"You're our for three seconds and saying that." Brandon said. "I'll be out here a little before ten when the film gets out. Get straight out of the theater, got it?"

"Question?" Colleen raised her hand, a smirk following. "If I gotta go pee after the movie what should I do?"

"Go. Then straight here. You girls have fun." Brandon hugged them both. "Call if the movie gets out earlier or you wanna get picked up."

Brandon was off and both teenage girls stood on the curb pretending to be on their phones. When they knew Brandon was out of sight both girls left the movie theater to head to the club a few blocks over. "Ralf meeting us there?"

"Yes. We're going to meet him in the ally just before the club to get the ID's." Evie explained. "I'm so excited! I can't wait to get in and club."

"Same." Colleen said.

* * *

The two girls met Ralf at the alley and received their fake IDs. The three then made their way over to the large brick building with neon flashing lights 'Disco Studs' written in gold colors with flashing light bulbs in the letters. They made their way up to the double doors with the other large group that they were with, where the bouncers stood outside the club. Ralf made it in without issue. Evie followed next where her ID and herself were studied for several moments before she was also allowed in. Several people went ahead of Colleen before it was her turn. The bouncer took her ID and studied both the card and Colleen. The same bouncer as Evie's, Colleen figured that she'd get in the club.

He handed the card back. "Nice try."

"What?"

"Leave the premises or I'm calling the cops," He pointed the opposite direction. "Leave!"

"Okay, okay!" Colleen dodged to the side and made away. She made eye contact with Ralf and Evie, who stood at the doors waiting for her. Colleen nodded at Evie. She pulled out of her bag her tampon, nodding again.

Evie got the message.

The sandy-brown brunette waitied outside under what she assumed was a bathroom window. It took five minutes before her red hair cousin found her. "Leeny, its a guy bathroom."

"I'll close my eyes." Colleen threw her bag up at her cousin. She took steps back to give herself running room. Ralf came at the window ready to grab her hands.

Colleen ran speedily and jumped up, taking hold of her friends hands and putting her feet on the wall to climb up as Ralf pulled her up.

"The athletic side if from Aunt Callie no doubt." Evie chuckled as Colleen and Ralf fell onto the bathroom floor. "Come on they're playing Britney inside!"

The three friends left the mens room and made it onto the floor. The club had bright dicoball lights illuminating rainbow, silver and gold lights shining around the room. A majority of the female clubbers were dressed scantily while many of the male clubbers had only their pants on. Partners dancing inappropriately with one another, single clubbers trying to dance that way with Evie, Ralf and Colleen. The boy and girls kept close to one another by not letting go of one anothers hands. They made to the middle and began dancing together.

They danced for a while before Colleen needed something to drink. The friends made their way to the bar where Colleen broke from the chain and promised to stay there until her friends came back for her in a couple of minutes. Colleen sat in one of the chairs and got the bar tenders attention. "Water please!" She shouted, pulling her wallet out of her bag.

"First on the house." He responded.

Colleen looked up to thank him before finding her words lost. A tall stood before her, definitely older than her. Ten years above her. Bronzy brown curly hair with medium hazel brown eyes. A strong structured face with a perfect pearly grin to att to the picture. Athletic slim but not too weak or lean. "Uh—Uh—"

"On the house." He said again with his grin. "You look a little young."

"Genetics."

"Well alright Karate Kid." He said. He held out his hand and said, "Cranston Cromwell."

"Unique." Colleen held her elbow out to bump with him. "Sorry, I never touch hands when I first meet strangers."

"Good call. So, Unique is a nice name. How'd your folks come up with that?" Cranston asked. Colleen giggled.

"They didn't...I mean, it's not Unique. Really not a unique name like Hollywood babies. It's Colleen."

"Colleen. That's a normal name, finally." Cranson handed her a glass of water. "I don't know that many Colleen's."

"Grandmothers name."

"Ah family names are the best. I wish my name was a family name." He made an annoyed face. "My Papa is a fan of Bryan Cranston. Dad on the other hand swears to his grave that my middle name is not because of a famous baby, but rather a name from a comic book character." He pointed at her and said, "Not telling you that and letting you take my ID."

"Nah. I rather be Colleen, thank you." She smiled sweetly.

* * *

9:06

At the club the girls continued to dance together with Ralf. Colleen noticed that the love birds were getting frisky with their dance moves and decided to move away for the time bit to give whatever privacy they had together. She told Evie where she was going to the bar and made a return to the bar in hopes to find Cranston.

"Cranston here?" She asked the woman bartender.

"Just got off a half hour ago." She replied.

"OK." Colleen sighed. She wanted to talk to him about the album they were about to talk about before Evie and Ralf dragged her out to the floor. "Thanks."

Colleen had another drink of water before deciding to sit outside to cool off. She sat on a bench playing a game on her phone when she saw the time. She decided to text Evie about leaving soon to make it back in time before her dad arrived outside the theater.

Go ahead before me. Ralf and I will leave in ten mins, cover for me?

Colleen shrugged and replied OK before she got up and began walking back to movie theater. She decided to run back to the theater since it was dark and late out now. She took her shoes off and took off in the direction of the movie theater.

* * *

9:35

Ralf stayed with Evie until she could find Colleen. Unfortunately, she couldn't find her cousin outside or inside of the movie theater. "I can't find her!" Evie cried. "Ralf," She pushed him. "I can't find her and she won't call me back either!"

"Maybe she took a ride home."

"She doesn't have a credit card and she doesn't use her parents card until its an emergency. What 911 could had happened in the last half hour?" Evie shouted. A car beeped and she saw her father's car pulling into the movie theater curb. "Shit, he's here."

"What are you going to do?"

"Pray that I see daylight again."

* * *

9:40

Callie and the youngest Hunter girl, Dianna, put the dishes away in the cabinet. "Dianna, get ready for bed after this."

"I'm eleven."

"So?"

"I should stay up until eleven."

"Oh and twelve when you're twelve?"

"Duh."

"What was about when you're thirteen?"

Dianna shrugged. "Three thirty one?"

"Nice try." Callie rubbed Dianna's brown hair. Her cell phone rang and Callie picked it up. "Hello?"


	4. Not A Usual Picnic

Callie opened the front door of the home and sternly said, "Inside!" to the elder daughter.

Colleen sauntered into the home following her mother's orders. She had attempted to explain in the car what she had done, but Callie made her stay quiet until they got home. The sandy colored hair teenage turned around this time and said for the hundreth time, "Mom, can I explain?"

"Fine. Go ahead." Callie told her. "Tell me why I got a call from your uncle who said that you weren't there with pickup."

"He was early anyways. You found me ten minutes before ten."

"Colleen."

"I got bored fifteen minutes into the movie so I told Evie that I was going to go out for a walk. I did walk around the block, like, three times before I found that coffee shop you found me in." The teenager explained. Truth for the most part. She left the club and did end up at some coffee shop that she had seen posted around on the 'gram. "In _fact_ I was about to order my second drink before you waltz in and said I had to come home."

A walk around the block on that street was ten minutes. "You just walked around for thirty minutes before getting coffee?"

"Well it was either that or discover the cure to make Pluto a planet again."

"Colleen!"

"Mom! I was okay, seriously. All I did was walk around and then get coffee. It's not like I ran away and went clubbing or whatever." _Oh if only you knew, Mother._ "I was going straight back to the theater before you showed up."

Callie breathed in and out several times. "How many times have I told you about walking about the city this late at night?" Callie was feminist. She hated that women couldn't walk around without being attack or assaulted unless they had company with them, females or males. But the motherly side of her thought differently. "Do you know how many sketchy people are out in the world?"

"Of course." Colleen felt the same way about the not being able to go out alone in the city unless she had company. She hated it as much as her mother. "Mom, I'm sorry. I am. I just got bored. I swear I was interested in the movie earlier today."

"Next time can you please call Dad or I for a ride? Or take a Swiftly?"

"I don't have a credit card."

"I'll give you mine and Dad's later so you'll have it." Callie then hugged her girl and said, "You're safe. That's all that matters."

"OK. I'm heading to bed."

"Dianna's upstairs in your room. Your uncle Carter had to do an overnight at the pharmacy in the hospital so he asked us to watch her for the night." Callie informed her. She noticed Colleen rolled her eyes and that made Callie smirk. "You know your aunt Mariana didn't like sharing a room with me either."

"Yeah but you weren't just staying for _a night_ like Dianna does every ten thousand years. I don't care if she goes through my makeup is that I have a specific makeup bag for her with makeup that I get that I never like. She had the _audacity_ to find the ones I do use and smear it on her face like a damn clown."

* * *

The following morning around nine Jamie had dropped off Dianna at her house, waving at his younger brother who not looked exhausted from overnight working but looked like he was about to commit a murder due to lack of sleep. Jamie turned out of the parking lot and down the street to head to the company picnic firm event.

The red light was approaching and Jamie slowed down the car. He glanced over at Colleen, who was texting on her phone with someone. The teenager had her hair in a half-up ponytail with a medium blue scrunchie in holding place of the ponytail, red floral tank top and denim high waist jeans with her sneakers.

"Take a picture because it could last longer." Colleen chuckled.

"That's your mom." Jamie told her. "Wanna grab a coffee before we get there?"

"Seriously?"

"Why not? You never got your second coffee last night." He glanced over again just in the nick of time to catch Colleen rolling her eyes. "Mom told me she already spoke to you already."

Colleen nodded. "I know. I know. She told me already and I apologized for the millionth time. I did not mean to cause trouble or heart attacks. Bored, walked, coffee." She turned up from her phone to the road ahead of her. Colleen felt her left hand being taken by her Dad. He brought it over to himself holding it so that her knuckles were above where his fingers curved and his thumb gracefully crossed over the knuckles. Her dad lifted her hand up towards him kissing her hand. _Cheesey much?_

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Her heart was heavy. She knew her dad loved her and just worried. "I know." Then she said. "Uh...did you know mom was raped?"

"What!?"

"Oh shit. Guess you didn't."

"No, I now she's been...But...How'd you know?"

"She told me." Colleen admitted. "Her foster brother she lived with raped her. Everyone blamed her for 'wanting it' and her being the one to start the relationship, when it was all that guy."

Jamie felt his heart lift with ease. "Oh...I knew that. I just, I didn't realize you knew that, Collie. That's all I meant with the...flip out."

"Oh. Ok. Yeah. She told me when I was ten. She didn't tell you she told me?" She questioned.

"She may have mentioned it. I can't really remember but I'm sure she did mention it."

"Oh. Yes. So she did and I've just always remembered the story and kept it mind if I go out." She explained. "One earbud in my ear, keys in my knuckles, if I ever order a drink and I leave it alone for even five seconds than I just have to order a new drink." She explained.

"Good. Sounds good. Except one thing."

"What?"

"Keep in consistent contact with someone."

* * *

At the park Colleen found herself sitting at one of the tables by herself poking at her food and observing the scene around her. She saw her Dad over at one of the tables talking with some of the guys. Maybe work related or personal life related. She turned the other way and saw a couple of teens that she knew from, well here, and school. But she didn't talk to them often. High class gals and horny gentlemen. Gentlemen indeed, but horny as hell. She was kind to them as she could be but rarely made contact with them.

She did hear that she was considered an oddball by them.

Her eyes were covered and a voice said, "Guess who?"

"Eddie Redmayne."

"Who?"

"Benedict Cumberbatch."

"What?"

"Hi Lester."

Lester Lotswik, commonly called Larry, smiled and sat next to the girl he crushed on. His sweater tied neatly around his neck and a golden grin that made his dentist proud to be his dentist. "Hey beautiful."

Lester had an interest in her. Colleen did not like him back. "Hi Lester."

"Its Larry."

"Lester."

"What's new today, pretty lady? You're sitting alone."

Colleen squinted in his direction. "My being alone is for your safety."

"That doesn't seem normal."

"Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. What do you need, Lester?"

"Larry. And I just wanted to ask if you were doing anything tonight." He shot another smiled at her. "You're such a beautiful person."

"Last time someone based someone on their apperance only, he turned into a beast for thirty years."

"He got married at the end."

"Yeah after the girl tells him she loves him." Colleen sneered. "I don't even like being around people half the time. You're screwed with me."

_How much I'd like to screw with you, my dear._ "Date tonight?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Babysitting."

"Oh so now that's the new 'I'm washing my hair' excuse?"

Colleen shook her head. "No. My younger cousins. All of them minus my cousin Evie's brother Hunter." She explained. "My aunt Mariana's kids are Rosie, 6, and Christopher, . Uncle Jesus and aunt Emma's kids are Jayson, 4, and Emilio, 2, and my Uncle Jude's son Jack who is 1 1/2."

"Holy shit. Five kids all by yourself?"

"From six until ten. They're all in bed by eight though so not too bad. As far as I know the kids are all going to have eaten dinner at five before they got dropped off so all I need to do is—"

"Bop in a movie."

"Exactly." She said. She heard laughs from the other side and turned to the teenagers. "What's going on?"

"Racing. Running races and Jodi and Michelle did a swimming race." Larry told her. "You're athletic, right?"

"Runs in the family."

"Whose side?" Colleen shrugged. "Run a race against Daniel. He's the quickest one."

* * *

"Okay. Daniel vs Colleen. Simple race. Run from here at the playground to the statue of the military tank over there," Tessa pointed to the statue that was half the length of a football field away. "Statue to the gazebo over that way," She pointed her finger to the route where the gazebo stood; exactly a football length away from the military tank statue. "Back here. First one back wins."

"Get ready to lose, Hunter." Daniel got into his start running position.

Colleen got into her running start position and laughed. "In your dreams, Asshole."

"Bitch."

"On your marks...All set...GO!"

The two took off running.

* * *

"You should have seen Daniel's face when he got back twenty seconds after me." Colleen told Jamie as he pulled up to her job. "He looked embarrassed that he tried to say that he was letting me win. We all saw him trip on the way back and everyone told me he tripped twice running from the tank to the gazebo."

"Don't mess with the family." Jamie laughed. "See you later."

"Bye Dad." Colleen grabbed her weekend backpack and black t-shirt from the back and closed the door.

She put her t-shirt on as she made her way to the front door of the tiny white brick building and hurried into the back to put her backpack away. As she got up to clock into the system she felt a tap behind her. She turned and found one of the waiters, Sandy. "Oh hey Sandy."

"Hey. Did you get my text?"

"No."

"New manager started today. He was going to start Monday but something came up with Ted so now the new guy started." He told her. "He's been in the back all day."

"OK."

"Just a heads up kiddo."

"What's his name?"

"William, I think."


End file.
